


Uncle

by PlutoRoman



Category: Animorphs - Katherine A. Applegate
Genre: Best Friends, Child Abuse, Emotions, slight AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-16
Updated: 2015-06-16
Packaged: 2018-04-04 18:08:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4147701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PlutoRoman/pseuds/PlutoRoman
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>That's why he couldn't call Ax uncle. Because to him, uncle wasn't a term of endearment. Not something to call someone you love and look up to. To Tobias, "uncle" ment someone to fear, and obey.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Uncle

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote and posted this a while ago on fanfiction.net. Now I'm posting it here.

There was a reason that Tobias never called Ax his uncle. After he found out, he was so surprised that Elfangor was his father, that he didn't even put it together that Ax was his uncle. But after telling the other Animorphs, and Marco cracking a joke about it, Tobias couldn't stop thinking about it after that.

That night, as Tobias perched in his favorite tree at the end of his meadow, he couldn't help but think about the uncle who had raised him.

Uncle Jack was a large, scruffy man. He had dark hair and cold, emotionless eyes. He didn't have a lot of money, so he lived in a two bedroom apartment on the poor side of town. He didn't have a job, but Tobias was never brave enough to ask where he got any money. Not that any of it went to Tobias. All of Tobias's cloths came from an old box in his aunt's attic. Tobias would sneak the little food that his uncle did have from the fridge. All other money went to beer and cigarets. Uncle Jack never did anything for Tobias.

But that's not why he hated uncles so much.

He hated his uncle because he of what he did.

The truth, that most of the Animorphs suspected, was that Tobias was a victim of child abuse until he got trapped in morph.

Uncle Jack would often (very often) come home from God-knows-where drunk, or maybe only buzzed. Those were the nights that Tobias wished he was at his aunt's (through the neglect was still present, and the bullies were worse). Because when alcohol got into his uncle's system (which was almost, if not every night) he became violent.

On the nights Tobias didn't hide in his room, or came home from the mall or somewhere else late and thought his uncle would be asleep, Tobias would go through hell. His uncle would hit him anywhere and everywhere, kick him, whip him with his belt, anything to get a reaction out of the boy. The whole time, the abusive uncle would be screaming at Tobias, telling him that he was useless, a waste of space, dumb. Some nights, he would yell how his mom didn't even love him.

After time, Tobias started to believe his uncle when he said these things (the bullies said it too, after all. If so many people said it, how could it not be true?)

But Tobias never said anything, never did anything. He cried when he was younger, and when older cried in private, but he never gave Uncle Jack anything to be pleased with, nothing to show that he was causing the child pain. In Tobias's eyes, that ment his uncle had won.

Won what? Why the forever going game of cat and mouse that went on in his life every day. He was always the mouse. The cat switched, depending on where he was. At school, or even the mall sometimes, it was the bullies whose goal in life was to make Tobias's life living hell. At home, it was Uncle Jack, in his drunk rage hurting the small child.

Teachers had all wondered about Tobias before, at one time or another. Looking at the bruises, cuts, and sometimes brakes, how could they not. But they all knew that he was bullied, and assumed it was from that. That was only backed up by the few times a teacher had asked him about his injuries, and him saying it was the bullies. So they all just put it off at kids being cruel. His injuries did attract some unwanted attention. Very unwanted (not that he knew at the time.)

One of the many things the Animorphs didn't know about Tobias was he had been a member of the Sharing. Mr. Chapman had sat him down one day after seeing his arm in yet another cast. He told Tobias that the Sharing was a place to go and have fun, and they would be able to help him. Thinking that it couldn't hurt, Tobias had gone.

He loved it.

The Sharing had been the first place that Tobias felt safe at. The first place that made him feel like he belonged. He had gone to many meetings. In fact, Tobias had been lined up to me come a full member soon.

Then he meet Elfangor, and they found out what the Sharing really was.

Tobias was devastated when he found out. They had taken him in, made him feel like he wasn't worthless, all to get a slug in his head to take over the world.

Speaking of when they meet Elfangor (his FATHER) it was probably a good thing that morphing came with a healing power. Because when he got home that night, he had awoken his uncle by mistake. Drunk, tired, and pissed, Uncle Jack had given Tobias the worse beating ever.

When Tobias had woken up the next morning, he had been lying in a puddle of blood, covered in bruises. His shirt lay nearby, ruined by the whipping his uncle's belt had given him. He could tell that his arm was broken, and his some of his ribs were cracked. He had gotten up and gone into his room (dealing with the pain wasn't that hard. To him, everything was numb). His cat was there, and looking at the animal, Tobias had remembered everything about the night before.

So he tryed.

And it worked.

He became Dude, with all the good and bad that came with it.

It became even better when he demorphed and his injuries had been healed. He even looked at where many past scars had been, and they were all gone too.

It was amazing. A dream come true.

And being honest with himself, it was the best day of his life when he got trapped in morph. He did miss a lot of things about human life; the mall, school, not fighting an intergalactic war with space slugs; but it took him away from Uncle Jack.

Because he was more affected then anyone knew because of his uncle's abuse. It's why he was so quite, not able to trust anyone to become friends with, afraid of what might happen if he said something wrong. It's why he was such a good victim for bullies, not much food, and a fear of fighting back will make you an easy target. It's why he dreamed, dreaming of a day he wouldn't have to live in fear.

That's why he couldn't call Ax uncle. Because to him, uncle wasn't a term of interment. Not something to call someone you love and look up to. To Tobias, "uncle" meant someone to fear, and obey.

To him, it wasn't something to call his shorm, his savior's brother, his best friend. It wasn't something to call someone he truly loved, and knew, loved him back.


End file.
